Today, at 00:32 Astana time, a Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle carrying the Progress MS-31 cargo spacecraft was launched from Launch Pad No. 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, reports the national portal “Adyrna” citing KazTAG.
The Progress MS-31 is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) two days later, on July 4, according to the flight plan.
The launch of the Progress MS-31 cargo spacecraft is part of the ISS resupply program. The Russian spacecraft will deliver a total of 2,625 kg of cargo to the station. This includes 950 kg of propellant to maintain orbit, food, water, air, parcels for the crew, 420 liters of potable water for the Rodnik system, 50 kg of nitrogen, as well as 1,205 kg of equipment for station upgrades and scientific experiments. The experiments include “Virtual,” “Biodegradation,” “Fullerenes,” “Biopolymer,” “Impulse,” and “Mirage.”
A poster commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Soviet-American “Soyuz–Apollo” program was placed on the body of the Soyuz rocket.
It is worth noting that on July 15, 1975, the Soyuz-19 spacecraft with cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov was launched from Baikonur. Half an hour later, from Cape Canaveral, the American Apollo spacecraft with astronauts Thomas Stafford, Donald Slayton, and Vance Brand was launched.
On July 17, 1975, Soyuz and Apollo docked in orbit, marking the first international orbital docking. During the mission, crew members transferred between the two spacecraft four times. On July 19, the vehicles undocked, concluding the joint mission.
Currently, the ISS is hosting the international crew of Expedition 73. The crew includes station commander Takuya Onishi (Japan), flight engineers Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Kirill Peskov (all from Russia), and Jonathan Kim, Anne McClain, and Nicole Ayers (all from the United States).
